Breguet Equation of Time

Can The Perfect Watch Be Had For Under $5,000? The Snob Weighs In

Breguet Equation of Time

Dear Mr. Snob,

I am about to head for the horological end game for me: Horological Nirvana, I hope. I am going to purchase the watch I will wear the most for the rest of my life, and one I hope to be wearing the day I die.

I have evaluated many pieces, for many years, and now have eliminated all but three for consideration: the Breguet Equation of Time, the Lange Datograph Perpetual Calendar, and the Patek Perpetual Calendar Chronograph, more particularly the Ref. 5970-the last with a Lemania-based movement.

I have considered price: the Patek will cost the most in the present market, as I can expect a good discount on the Breguet, and a decent one on the Lange.

I have considered size: The Breguet is quite small at 35.5mm, with a lot of information on it; the Lange, at 41mm, is a tiny bit large but the height is fine; the Patek. at 40mm, might be perfect — the height is similar to the Lange.

I have considered movement/finish: all three have phenomenal movements; finish is spectacular across the board, though the Breguet just might be slightly more beautiful (it doesn’t have to contend with chronograph parts). I have considered function: the Breguet has no chrono but the Equation complication is pretty cool — does that make up for what it lacks?

So, what would you pick? Typically I only listen to myself in matters like these, but as I stated way, way earlier (sorry), this is the "Big One” — I want no mistakes. And I have come to find that for the most part I find your reasoning solid, and I find I agree with you more often than not.

Thank you

Well, I feel I ought to congratulate you in advance on this occasion; these watches all represent a considerable investment in money but in your case, they obviously also represent a considerable investment in time and thought, which is more than I can say for most of those who write me. Now, to the business: the Breguet is an extremely charming watch; I find the size no deterrent, but the reason for choosing it over the others would, I feel, be the degree to which the Equation of Time charms you. Remove that and what you have is still a very pretty, complicated watch, but one perhaps less emotionally compelling.

As to the Patek 5970, it's tempting to simply say you can't go wrong with it and on a certain level you can't, but I look at it nowadays and I see less a watch and more a portable financial instrument. It is the obvious choice — that lovely Lemania movement, the investment value, quality of construction and finish — but despite all that, I find it simply boring; it is an oddly generic watch.

That leaves the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual. With respect to the movement, I happen to find the Datograph chronograph devastatingly attractive and so I can't object to it on those grounds. And of the three watches you have chosen, I find it to be the one with the most character. It has a clarity and crispness in execution I don't find in the other two watches and it has something I value more and more as the years go by — I don't find it bulky at all; rather, I see in it a reassuring, tangible solidity.

Perhaps it is only age, but as one grows more and more aware of the temporary nature of one's tenancy on this out-of-the-way little sphere of rock tumbling blindly around its out-of-the-way star, in a somewhat dull little galaxy, one values more and more something that exudes an enduring — and tangible — sense of permanence.